The layout of the Six Halls of the Apothecary covered a considerable expanse; behind the main hall were six spacious rooms, and Long Xuechan led Nie Kong through them one by one.

Although Nie Kong’s previous teasing had left her feeling somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, Long Xuechan was meticulously responsible when it came to business. As they entered each room, she cautioned him carefully, specifying which scents he absolutely must not inhale and which substances were highly poisonous and should never be touched lightly.

After spending about ten minutes, the two finally reached the outside of the last room. By this point, the little creature’s cries had grown exceptionally agitated; clearly, the herb it had coveted for so long was inside. Seeing Long Xuechan push the door open, Nie Kong felt a slight surge of excitement himself.

The expansive room contained only five rows of tables, and upon each tabletop rested eight exquisite jade basins. The soil within the basins was of varied colors, each nurturing a different medicinal herb. Some herbs looked listless, their leaves dull and lacking luster, while others pulsed with vibrant life.

“Aiya ya, aiya ya…”

The little creature was once again leaping about wildly over the clump of dark green blood, apparently urging Nie Kong to quickly acquire all these herbs. Nie Kong felt utterly speechless; the creature was truly greedy. By the looks of it, it seemed intent on clearing out all the dozens of herbs in this room in one sweep.

Long Xuechan’s gaze swept around the room, finally settling on the four herbs that were on the verge of withering. She addressed Nie Kong by name directly: “Nie Kong, the herbs grown in this room are all intensely poisonous, but their specific medicinal properties have always been difficult to ascertain. If we can’t find a masterful trial-tester soon, these herbs will likely all die off, just like these four—they can probably only hold on for another two or three days at most.”

Long Xuechan’s tone was full of regret. Different herbs required vastly different growing conditions. Once removed from their native environment and unable to adapt to the new setting, the only fate awaiting them was a slow death. While common herbs were easier to replace, finding an identical rare herb after it withered might take an unknown number of years.

Furthermore, confirming medicinal properties was much easier and yielded better results when using the living specimens.

Looking at the gradually yellowing herbs, Nie Kong also felt a pang of regret.

On this Tianling Continent, lacking the advanced medical instruments of his previous life, confirming the properties of medicinal herbs or spiritual medicines required direct tasting by a Spirit Alchemist. Throughout history, countless Spirit Alchemists had died sampling herbs and elixirs, including even Medicine Kings among them.

Over time, the Tianling Continent had consequently developed the profession of the Trial-Tester.

These Trial-Testers were themselves Spirit Alchemists, and they charged exorbitant fees to taste substances for others, discerning their properties. However, they typically sampled finished spiritual medicines or herbs containing no poison, or only trace amounts, as these carried the lowest risk.

Because Trial-Testers constantly sampled various concoctions, they accumulated vast experience. Spirit Alchemists were eager to hire them, both because they could identify properties with maximum accuracy and because, should a spiritual medicine prove problematic, they could quickly apply countermeasures to save their lives. A truly skilled Trial-Tester could even offer suggestions for improvement based on their physical reaction, saving considerable hassle.

Unfortunately, very few Trial-Testers would knowingly taste an herb containing virulent poison just to determine its properties. After all, the Tianling Continent was rife with toxic flora, and testing such plants involved immense risk. It could be said that even a Heaven Spirit Realm expert would hesitate to casually sample unfamiliar medicinal herbs.

Long Xuechan’s desire to hire a Trial-Tester to discern and confirm these properties was unlikely to be fulfilled.

“Aiya ya!”

Seeing that Nie Kong was ignoring her, the little creature grew slightly annoyed. Its three small leaves curled around its stem, causing the entire plant to bend. The round flower bud at its tip hammered against the side wall of Nie Kong’s acupoint like a tiny mallet, its dull thud resonating within his Dantian.

Nie Kong was caught between laughter and tears, just about to tell the creature to curb its greed, when a flash of inspiration struck his mind. “Sister Chan, since no Trial-Tester is willing to apply, why don’t I try? It’s such a waste to just watch them wither here.”

“You?”

Long Xuechan snapped her head around, seemingly unable to believe her ears. She let out a bright, tinkling laugh. “Nie Kong, did I hear you right? You want to test the medicine?”

Nie Kong adopted a serious expression. “You heard correctly.”

Long Xuechan froze for a moment, then burst into even louder laughter. Her full, soft chest trembled and heaved, the two snowy, pale hemispheres looking as if they might leap free from her bodice. As she bent over holding her stomach, the deep ravine between her jade peaks was almost completely exposed, giving Nie Kong a direct, overhead view.

Nie Kong wasn't in a rush to defend himself.

After a good while, Long Xuechan’s laughter subsided, and he spoke slowly, “Sister Chan, if I dare offer to test the medicine, naturally I have confidence.”

Wiping away tears of mirth, Long Xuechan couldn't help but snort another laugh upon hearing Nie Kong’s words. “Nie Kong, what is your current cultivation? Spirit Perception! And what is your alchemy level? Second Grade… Sister isn’t trying to mock you, but your idea is simply too far-fetched. Even I wouldn’t dare taste these poisonous herbs; if you tried, ten lives wouldn’t be enough to lose!”

Nie Kong smiled faintly. “Sister Chan, why do you think I wasn't afraid of the scent of the ‘Weak Water Fragrant Herb’ before?”

“?”

Long Xuechan didn't speak, but her delicate face was covered in question marks; she was genuinely puzzled by Nie Kong’s fearlessness regarding the ‘Weak Water Fragrant Herb.’ However, recalling the previous times Nie Kong had brazenly teased her, she instantly felt a familiar prickle of anger.

Nie Kong continued, “I have consumed various medicines since childhood, so my resistance to toxins is extremely strong. In this regard, perhaps even a Spirit Commander wouldn’t be stronger than me…”

Since he hadn't known Long Xuechan previously, Nie Kong felt free to embellish to enhance his persuasiveness. “If Sister Chan doesn’t believe me, you can first give me a relatively weak toxic herb to test. If I’m boasting, I imagine with your abilities, there will be time to detoxify me.”

“What you say has some merit.”

Long Xuechan reined in her laughter, gazing at Nie Kong intently with her beautiful eyes for a long while before saying sternly, “Since you are so eager to test, I will first let you sample two herbs. If you can truly endure it, we will proceed. If not, you are never to entertain the thought of medicine testing again.”

“Deal!”

Nie Kong nodded without hesitation.

Seeing this, Long Xuechan flickered out of the room. In mere seconds, a green silhouette reappeared at the doorway. Long Xuechan walked in with graceful steps, holding two jade basins.

Setting one basin down, Long Xuechan brought the remaining basin before Nie Kong.

Planted in that jade basin was a white herb. Near the soil at its base lay a rather broad, snowflake-shaped leaf. Upon it grew a spherical bud, about the size of a fist, as white as snow and clear as jade. The surface of the sphere was covered in numerous protruding granules the thickness of a small finger…